Mountain music news

Singer/songwriters series continues

The next “Songwriters in the Round” event will take place Nov. 3 at the Balsam Mountain Inn.

Renowned southern songwriters Steve Williams, Wil Nance and Wood Newton will be taking the stage, intimately performing alongside a gourmet dinner served by the inn. The evening is $45 per person, which includes dinner, show, tax and tip. Reservations are now available.

828.456.9498.

Tracing the source of mountain music

Guitarist Henry Queen will perform at 7 p.m. Nov. 1 at the First Thursday Old-Time and Bluegrass Jam Series in the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University.

Queen’s performance will focus on the journeys of songs across oceans and through time. A member of the award-winning Queen Family Band of the Johns Creek community, he specializes in the claw-hammer banjo and mountain-country guitar. It will be followed by an 8 p.m. jam session, in which local musicians are invited to participate. Pickers and singers of all ages and experience levels are invited to take part in the jam sessions.

The concerts and sessions will continue at the Mountain Heritage Center through the fall and winter, with programs from 7-9 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month. The events are free and open to the public.

828.227.7129.

Library to host community jam

A community music jam will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. Nov. 1 at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City. Anyone with a guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle or dulcimer (anything unplugged) is invited to join. Singers are also welcome. The event is free and open to the public.

The jam is facilitated by Larry Barnett of Grampa’s Music in Bryson City. Normally, he starts by calling out a tune and its key signature, and the group plays it together. Then everyone in the circle gets a chance to choose a song for the group to play together. The community jams offer a chance for musicians of all ages and levels of ability to share music they have learned during the years or learn old-time mountain songs.

The music jams are offered to the public each first and third Thursday of the month, year round. Marianna Black Library, a member of the Fontana Regional Library, is located in downtown Bryson City at the corner of Academy and Rector.